For a Voice Like Thunder
by Myaxx22
Summary: For a voice like thunder and a tongue to drown the throat of war! When the soul is driven to madness who can stand? O who hath caused this? Who can answer at the throne of God? Hear it not heaven, thy ministers hath done it! - William Blake
1. O, For a Voice Like Thunder

I own nothing. Warning! Femme!Slash! Alien trafficking! Watch The Galactic Enforcers first, please.

Also, I'd like to thank my muse, Myaxx, for this (hopefully) awesome first idea.

Myaxx: ...

Myaxx, c'mon, you can't hate me forever!

Myaxx: Wanna bet?

...

--

The silence of the blessedly cool night was lost on no one, swirls of desert sand dancing to the frozen music in the air. The entire planet breathed one, collective sigh as two figures stood, gazing at the last glimmers of sunset. Where one seemed to almost tower over the other, both clearly feminine, the looks exchanged left no room for questionable intentions.

Bending close to the smaller female, the tall woman tipped the younger's head upward to meet her own lips, memories passing between mingled mouths and gasps for breath.

Eyes opened briefly, the younger's murmuring, 'Will I see you again?'

The elder was without a reply, other than to intensify her kisses.

The younger closed her eyes and remembered…

--

The first time she saw her, it was early morning. Her cousin had done… something? It was a classic 'love at first sight' moment. The rest of the world seemed to dissipate as she gazed into glimmering, amber quad optics. Shimmering crimson hair so dark one might think it was black cascaded down powerful shoulders, strong, overpowering red. Rough arms, four of them, were covered in spikes of flesh that glinted in the warmth of the sun.

The only problem with her fairytale was that she seemed to have gone completely unnoticed by the being of perfection before her.

A tall, blue male had given introductions, but only one name stayed with the girl.

"Tini."

--

Tini broke from the kiss, staring into eyes that were so completely green, she could have drowned in them, but she knew that, for once, she wouldn't have to save herself, or anyone else for that matter, because the girl in front of her would save her.

She breathed in the sweet scent of earthen fruits from the girl's hair, cradling her against her chest as she warped them both back to the hotel the girl was staying at, remembering…

--

"Hey! How come he gets the superhero treatment?"

Ultimos had lightly brushed off her indignant cry, but Tini felt her pain. She knew what it was like to be just another face. The young girl's pale complexion was framed by soft, ginger hair, but her personality and wit were as sharp as cinnamon.

Vaguely, Tini wondered what it would be like to run her fingers through the earth child's hair. Would it be coarse and nearly solid like her own? Or would it be submissive, giving way between her fingers, molding to the shape it was commanded to.

'I like men,' was her last thought before she headed off to battle Sixsix and Volcanus, hearing a soothing phrase addressed to the girl.

"Gwen."

--

Noises assaulted them upon their return from the Gobi. The Detroit air was heavy with the sounds of a city and the pounding of a mighty thunderstorm. Gwen held onto Tini as she strode toward the girl's bed, seating herself on the floor beside it.

Gwen nuzzled Tini's chest, sighing softly as the tetramand brushed her hair from her face as the alien whispered, "I'm sorry. I have to go."

--

When Gwen saw Tini lying, trapped by an old boxcar, she was angry. She didn't quite know why, or at what, but she knew she was angry. When Ben rescued her, she was embarrassed. But it was when Synaptak had shielded Tini from the rockslide that Gwen became so livid she had to keep quiet to contain herself and had ended up lashing out at Synaptak when he had asked about steel forges.

It was also then that, had Gwen bothered to look, the day had suddenly taken a turn for the overcast.

--

Gwen gripped Tini's arm with all her meager strength, attempting to deny the female's egression.

Tini sighed, permitting one hand to ghost down the length of Gwen's vertebrae.

"Gwen, you and I both know it couldn't work. You are a human, a child, with your entire life before you. I cannot take you from that."

--

Tini was surprised, to say the least, when Gwen was the one who volunteered to handle the chemical sabotage. If anything, it made her less certain of herself. The human child was brave, intelligent, observant…

And everything Tini felt she had known about social norms began breaking apart before her eyes.

The girl of no more than ten earth years was twisting her heart into a shape she never thought it could be. It was all she could do to attempt to keep Synaptak near her. As long as she believed she loved him, there would be no problems.

--

Gwen's eyes snapped open, blazing in rage as she quietly fumed, "And what if I want you to take it from me? What if I want to go with you, to see the universe with you, to save lives and chase bad guys with you?"

"And when the time comes, do you want to be tossed aside with us, too? Because that is what will happen!" scolded Tini, staring into Gwen's evergreen optics. "Gwen, in a few more earth years, we will be assigned a permanent position in some deserted sector of the Universe to just wait there until we've either been called home or died. Is that what you want?"

Gwen's eyes flashed as a lightning bolt shut off the electricity, questions spilling over her lips as tears spilled from her eyes.

--

The Galactic Enforcers would have left Earth immediately, but in a last, ditch attempt to prevent their capture, Volcanus had smashed the control room of their ship. Synaptak and Ultimos were to work on it, but they had asked Tini to gather information about the planet below for future reference.

It wouldn't have bothered her so much had she not been paired with Gwen as her guide.

Of course, it didn't seem to bother her at all when the human fell from a tree branch she'd been reading in and had, when caught, pressed full, soft lips against Tini's.

No, it hadn't bothered her at all…

--

"What do you mean?" Gwen questioned like a daughter sans her father's loving presence.

"I – that is, we – were bought by the Intergalactic Judicial Association. We were all from poor families, and by selling ourselves to the IJA we were able to take care of our families on our home planets. That's why Ultimos is so careful about following the code. His wife and children – two little girls – depend on him being able to follow it. For Synaptak, it's his parents. For me, it's my sister. What it means, though, is that we are the property of IJA."

There was a quiet in the room that stretched too long for Gwen's liking, broken only by the occasional sniffle or car horn.

"I'm sorry."

It was all Gwen could think to say. It terrified her to think of what it was like, being someone else's property.

This time, it was Tini's turn to weep, rotating her head so that her coarse hair fell over her luminous eyes.

Reaching a small – so small compared to the giant in her room – hand up, Gwen brushed Tini's mane from her face, watching puffy, orange-tinted eyes glance at her, then down in shame as she placed a light kiss upon each of her four eyes.

"If you ever want to talk, or need a friend, I'm always here for you. And one day, I'll buy your freedom, and you and Synaptak and Ultimos will be free, and you can be with whoever you want."

The words were spoken as more than an oath, and Tini smiled, even through a curtain of tears, as she laid Gwen on her bed and tucked her in.

Standing to leave, Gwen called out, "Wait!"

Looking over her shoulder, Tini paused.

"I know you can't be here permanently, but could you just… stay until I'm asleep?"

A quiet sigh escaped Tini's lips, and she sat beside the human girl, running a hand down her back and murmuring the tune of a lullaby she thought she had forgotten.

If either had bothered to look, they would have noticed the rain had stopped and the harvest moon had peaked out from behind the foreboding storm clouds.


	2. To Drown the Throat of War

Say it!

Myaxx: ...No.

C'mon!!!!! You promised!!!

Myaxx: ...No.

Two-year-old! (sticks out tongue)

Myaxx: Look who's talking!

Not the point! Now say it!

Myaxx: Will you shut up if I do?

Probably not! But there's a chance...

Myaxx: (sighs) Fine. Mia doesn't own Ben 10 or William Blake. But she does want to give a shout out to HeartofaGoddess2009 for her awesome first review. Many cookies with chocolate chunks and ice cream for you. (looks to Mia) Happy?

Very! :)

Myaxx: Slave driver...

--

The screen came on the same as any other day. Something told me I should pay attention, but I was too tired to care, especially after fighting off a rebellion of cyber pirates on Vulpin only twelve hours prior.

Of course, I dropped everything I was doing and stared as I heard the voice coming through the speakers.

A little deeper than I remembered, but looking to the screen brought undeniable proof.

Gwen.

Gwen was talking and she was saying something that was making her very happy, but I couldn't hear her, nor could I bring myself to care. Gwen was right there, on the screen, talking to us – to me!

"-and so, with a bit of negotiation, we were able to purchase your team's freedom. All of your debts have been paid off," finished the human female, smiling brilliantly.

The room went silent. Warmth filled each of us in rapidly heightening pleasure until we felt we might have exploded.

I screamed, grabbing the person closest to me – Synaptak – and gave him a quick kiss just to release the elation I felt boiling over. Ultimos, I noted out of the corner of one of my eyes, was not celebrating with us. I tapped the giddy Synaptak whose gaze melded with mine as we listened to the conversation our leader was having with Ben.

"What's wrong?" I could hear the terror in his voice as a tangible force, freezing the room's warm joy.

Silence.

"It's Vilgax. I did everything I could, but there were too many of them. I swear there was nothing I could have done," Ben's voice echoed in the icy hall of our ship for a time undeterminable.

Stillness.

"Ben, please, tell me what is wrong," Ultimos's voice trembled in time with his hands, though the question seemed pointless as he looked to have already decided what the answer was. Tears shimmered on his eyes, but did not spill over the rims. He wouldn't let them.

Sigh.

"Your planet is gone."

Minutes. Hours. Days. Years.

After a time in a delicate, frozen non-reality, a cry of desolation shattered the beautiful pillars of frost and drew us back to the nightmare of acceptance and realism.

Ultimos fell to his hands and knees, wailing hopelessly, his voice like thunder, drowning out all else and the day is spoiled. Our war may be over, but our dearest friend has lost to the nobility, and to the tyrants, and to himself.

And I know, looking at his fearfully broken face, he will not be okay.


	3. When the Soul is Driven to Madness

I own nothing.

--

Silence. The endless silence lingering on like a never-ending nightmare from which he could not awaken, measured in lives lost and worlds burned.

His world… burned.

His family… gone.

No tears came, nor did his breath hitch, nor did he cry out. He simply stood, suffocating in the nearly hysterical peace, remembering Ben's words as he had heard them what seemed like a lifetime ago.

--

"Ultimos," Ben's voice had matured over the course of ten years. He and his team had been bought their freedom – just as Gwen and Ben had promised – by the two teens. They stood in the cabin of their ship, cheering and hugging each other and Tini had grabbed Synaptak and planted a kiss on his pixilated face screen.

Ultimos looked up at the screen to see Ben's face, solemn and guilty.

His smile fell.

"What's wrong?"

Silence.

Infinite silence.

Infinite, suffocating silence.

"I'm so sorry."

By then, the cheering of his comrades had subsided and they were listening intently to the voice of the human boy.

"What's wrong?"

Silence.

"It's Vilgax. I did everything I could, but there were too many of them. I swear there was nothing I could have done."

Stillness.

"Ben, please, tell me what is wrong."

Sigh.

"Your planet is gone."

--

He couldn't. He couldn't feel the ground connect with his knees as they gave way beneath him. He couldn't hear Ben's nominal offerings in soporific tones of encouraging words. He couldn't smell the burnt flesh of the bodies hanging before him.

He could only stare despairingly at the scene before him. Three forms of burnt beings – females – dangled from their necks before him, a sign overhead bearing the words 'Hail, Vilgax'. One figure was taller than the other two, the mother of the children. The father knelt before them, numb, disconsolate, and despondent.

The blanket of silence formed into a noose, tightening around the neck of the once-proud hero. He felt it choking him; eyes burning with unshed tears that crept up his throat, struggling to crawl past the tightness in his trachea. Planting his hands on the ground, he felt the contents of his stomach empty themselves upon the ground.

And then the tears came.

It was almost a relief; cool, gentle waves pouring over his heated face, carrying away his numbness until the pain hit full force.

Ultimos lashed out at Ben, throwing him nearly twenty meters. He released a scream to the atmosphere of the dying planet, and, staring at the charred eyes of his wife – eyes that had once held love for him, and only ever him – and drew his plasma gun.

Ben stared in wide-eyed wonder at the broken leader's last act of loyalty.

Tipping his head back, Ultimos swallowed the end of the gun and, tears still flowing, cocked the trigger.

He paused, wondering if his wife would approve. Should he continue on? Should he pull the trigger?

A light flashed in the distance, a sunspot erupting.

He made up his mind. One more flash, and he'd stop; carry on, maybe even love again.

Ten seconds, and he'd pull the trigger. The sun had ten seconds to erupt again.

Nine…

His hands trembled.

Eight…

He mouthed three words to his daughters, ancient and true in their phrasing.

Seven…

He began squeezing the metallic, cool trigger.

Six…

He remembered the last time he'd seen his family, telling them how much he loved them. His youngest was three years old at the time.

Five…

He stared at the sun, willing it to flash, willing it not to.

Four…

Three…

Two…

One…

Zero.

--

Oh, no!!! Did he die? Is he alive? What the heck was I on when I was writing this? Where did I get the weird newscaster microphone?

Myaxx: More importantly, will she ever shut up?

(Raspberry) I won't dignify that with a response!

Myaxx: Promise?

Meanie…

…

Say it!!!

Myaxx: Fine! Geeze, I think I liked working for Azmuth better than this. One, Mia doesn't own any of this. Two, the summary is actually part of a poem by William Blake; it's pretty good, for an Earthling. Look it up. Three, Mia says this is the last update for the day. And four, for the sake of my sanity, REVIEW!!! …Happy?

:) Very!


	4. Who Can Stand

Myaxx: You came back?

Yup! From New Jersey to you!

Myaxx: You shouldn't have.

^w^ aww!!! I didn't know you cared!

Myaxx: No, I mean you shouldn't have.

Meanie! Anyway, on with the story!

Disclaimer: Do I really need to say it? I own nothing.

--

Rain. Tini had never felt anything like it. The scent of watery Earth filled her with calm as the droplets of water formed an orchestra of little fingers on every surface they touched, drumming the roof and singing in the trees.

Gwen lay by her side on the shadeless porch of the small cottage in the gentle forest of her mother's. The rain fell continually, relentlessly on their naked bodies, washing away their fears and guilt, leaving only happiness and blissful afterglow and tiredness.

Tini pulled Gwen onto her stomach, holding back a laugh as Gwen snuggled into her warm arms. The serenity of the forest was nothing like Tini remembered from her home world. Endless deserts filled her mind's eyes as she recalled the only time she had ever seen rain. The acid had burned through rocks and killed her parents, her brothers, all the people she had ever cared for, leaving only she and her sister to tremble in fear and pray for salvation.

Shortly thereafter, Tini had sold herself to the IJA, or Intergalactic Judicial Association, to help uphold the laws in return for the safety and continued sheltering of her sister. And then she had met Gwen.

It was nearly ten years ago the child had promised to free her from her servitude, and it was nearly a week ago that she had finally done it.

With some help from her cousin, of course.

The very same cousin from whom they had heard nothing of either him or Ultimos, who had gone with him to see what remained of his planet, for going on seven days.

A small, choked back sob brought Tini from her reverie. Four powerful, intelligent eyes fixed their amber gaze on the weeping, shivering body atop her own.

"Gwen," she breathed, watching the child's – now, woman's – puffy, reddened eyes look to her own.

"I'm scared," admitted the human, trembling beneath the gentle touches from the tetramand. "Ben's been gone for days now, and hasn't even signaled."

Tini grew angry at the male, and silently promised that the moment he got back, he'd be getting his ears, as the earthlings said, 'talked off' by the annoyed she-alien, but for the moment, Tini was going to comfort Gwen any way she could.

"Don't worry," she began, pulling Gwen flush against her breasts, tipping her head up to capture small lips in her own. "You've already told me how irresponsible he is. I'm sure that this can be chalked up to his nature. And the moment he gets back, I'll hold him down for you, okay?"

Gwen giggled, a sound as melodious as bells softly clattering to the floor, and the world was warm. Gwen giggled, and Tini was no longer guilty for getting her family back when Ultimos did not. Gwen giggled, and Tini was happy.

The woman breathed a soft sigh as her eyelids fell, heavier than she could bare, and, with Tini by her side, she felt she didn't need to, anyway.

No, she knew she didn't have to. Not when Tini was there. Not with her four, strong arms wrapped so lovingly around her frail frame – how frail she must be in comparison to the ever-strength of the mighty tetramand and the ancient power of the surrounding forest!

Teeni opened the large, oaken door, a near-clone of her sister in appearance, and spoke solemnly, "Gwen, you need to hear this."

Suddenly, with the hushed words and mingled tears, the rain seemed to intensify into a storm to rival all storms, the city a few miles away being ravaged by lightning and floods.

Ben was dead.


End file.
